All posts tagged Club for Growth

In a rare encroachment into a Democratic primary, the conservative Club for Growth is airing a television ad that attacks Florida Senate candidate Patrick Murphy for supporting the Export-Import Bank and praises potential rival Alan Grayson for opposing the credit agency for American businesses. Read More »

At the end of a 45-minute discussion with wealthy conservatives, the moderator referred to complaints that Mr. Walker was “not prepared to speak about foreign policy” at a recent donor meeting in New York, and asked him what he was doing to bone up on the topic. Read More »

The leader of a prominent Washington, D.C. fiscal conservative advocacy group on Tuesday warned it would keep an eye on Sen. John McCain, should he run for re-election in 2016, and would consider backing Republicans who challenge him in the primary election.

Club for Growth President David McIntosh said the group would “carefully” watch the race for the Arizona Republican’s seat. Read More »

After suffering a disappointing year at the ballot box, the Club for Growth on Thursday announced Chris Chocola is retiring at year’s end and will be replaced by fellow former Indiana GOP Rep. David McIntosh.

Mr. Chocola steered the anti-spending organization for six years when it won a series of battles against the Republican Party establishment. Sens. Mike Lee (R., Utah), Ted Cruz (R., Texas), Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) and Rand Paul (R., Ky.) all won primaries against party-backed candidates with financial help from the Club. Read More »

What makes the House Republican majority ungovernable isn’t just the 50 or so conservatives who adhere to doctrinaire conservative principles, former Rep. Steve LaTourette said, it’s the 80 members who feel menaced by third-party groups threatening them with primary challenges.

“What happens is they’re like an Ebola virus that spreads,” Mr. LaTourette told a meeting of Wall Street Journal reporters and editors Tuesday. “And if you can keep it contained with this bunch of people that really hate the government, OK, I respect their position. But when the virus spreads and they then have a bunch of people all nervous that if they vote the way they really think they should vote then bad things are going to happen, that messes up the process.” Read More »

In his last two years in Congress, Kansas Republican Todd Tiahrt voted with the Club for Growth position on legislation 90% of the time in 2009 and 100% of the time in 2010, but that’s not enough to spare him the Club’s wrath as he seeks to win back his old seat.

Mr. Tiahrt, who is challenging Club-endorsed Rep. Mike Pompeo (R., Kan.) in an Aug. 5 primary, is the target of the Club’s PR machine. A daily email from spokesman Barney Keller highlights a “wasteful earmark of the day” from Mr. Tiahrt’s 16-year House tenure. On Monday, it was a vote against stripping $150,000 in funding for the South Carolina Aquarium in Charleston, and on Tuesday it was a vote against eliminating $2 million in funding for a center named for Democratic Rep. Charlie Rangel in New York. Read More »

The Club for Growth was Chris McDaniel’s largest financial backer in his Mississippi Republican primary challenge to Sen. Thad Cochran, but Club President Chris Chocola said Mr. McDaniel needs to provide some “clear” evidence to continue contesting his defeat in the June 24 runoff.

“McDaniel is going to have to make a decision at some point in how far he pursues this,” Mr. Chocola said Tuesday in a discussion with Wall Street Journal reporters and editors. “If there’s clearly evidence of wrongdoing, that there were ballot integrity issues I suppose it would be appropriate for him to pursue those, but it would have to be clear. I don’t know that they’re clear at this point.” Read More »

The conservative groups that poured millions into Mississippi to topple Republican Sen. Thad Cochran quickly kicked into damage control mode Wednesday morning, hours after the six-term incumbent eked out an unexpected primary win.

The conservative Club for Growth, whose political arm spent more than $3.1 million trying to unseat Mr. Cochran, took a moment to remind critics that the group has notched a number of notable primary wins over the years, including Sens. Ted Cruz in Texas, Marco Rubio in Florida and Rand Paul in Kentucky. Read More »

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